


Dying Embers TimeStamps

by Loracine



Series: Dying Embers [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-07-22 15:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7444672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loracine/pseuds/Loracine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jensen screeched, his leg spasming helplessly, foot curling. "Stop it. Stop it. Hahahaha. Stop him. Please," he begged. "I gotta… Haha. I gotta check… on something," he gasped out.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. The Popsicle Debacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen screeched, his leg spasming helplessly, foot curling. "Stop it. Stop it. Hahahaha. Stop him. Please," he begged. "I gotta… Haha. I gotta check… on something," he gasped out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [spnwritingchallenge](http://spnwritingchallenge.tumblr.com/) July 2016  
>  | loracine vs [paint-the-town-black-in1967](http://paint-the-town-black-in1967.tumblr.com) |  
> Prompt: popsicle
> 
> Title: The Popsicle Debacle

Jared liked sour gummi worms, the kind rolled in sugar and so sour that your mouth puckered when you bit into the colorful meat of the candy. There were empty plastic packages for the things littering his junker car and more stuffed into the trash can at home. So many that Jensen had started to complain about it yesterday when he'd reached into the hamper to do their laundry and found a handful of them that Jared had absently tossed there instead of putting them into the trash where they were supposed to be.

Jensen smiled fondly as he looked out the kitchen window. Jared was speckled with sand, skin wet and gleaming wearing the biggest dimpled smile Jensen had ever seen on his husband. Despite Jensen's objections, they were the proud pet-parents of two giant goofy dogs. Go figure. Sure, initially he had claimed that he would never let a dog into any house of his, but one day Jared had brought these two home from the local shelter and now there were three puppy dog eyes looking sadly at Jensen like he would be some sort of asshole if he didn't capitulate. Well, he kind of just had to give in at that point. Now, he just got to look at the man getting run ragged by two mutts while wearing board shorts in July. It was awesome.

But, back to the candy. Florida had two settings.

No, I know I said candy. Just hang with me for a second. I'm getting there.

Florida had two settings, luke-warm and 'Oh my god, when did we book two tickets to Hell?' So, while sour gummi worms are tasty, Jensen has been trying to make sour gummi worm popsicles. He was pretty sure the next batch would be the one. Of course, he'd been sure every other time and he'd been wrong about every single one of them. He gave Jared one last look, watched the three most important parts of his world dive into the waves rolling up onto Blind Pass Beach, and turned to check the freezer.

Not long after, he was squawking in indignation as the beautiful bamboo floors were getting speckled with salty ocean water dripping from shaggy hair, Jared's shaggy head of hair. The dogs were still outside drying off. Jared shut him up with a kiss and when he pulled back, Jared smirked and said, "No more grumpy Jen."

Jensen sputtered, "What?"

He didn't have to wonder what the man meant for very long. Jared picked him up and was running out of the front door before he could figure it out and fight back. Jensen's wriggling didn't do a damn thing. Jared just held on with those big muscles of his and since Jensen wasn't willing to inflict any damage on his soul mate he was powerless to save himself.

"Jay," he squeaked just before he was tossed into a tall wave, cool water swallowing him whole. He surfaced spluttering obscenities and looking about as pleasant as a wet cat. Murphy and Solo were splashing around his legs, tongues hanging out of their mouths and wide doggy smiles on their muzzles. Solo, her big body nearly as hefty as his own, circled just a little too close and swept his feet out from under him. He let out a yell as he went down for the second time, the water closing over his head as the dogs started barking excitedly and loud enough to wake the dead.

Jared was laughing his ass off in the sand watching the commotion. He only laughed harder when Jensen glowered at him, bursts of fuscia amusement and happy yellow coming from Jared through their soul bond. Breathless, Jared sat down and clutched at his stomach as his booming laughter descended into helpless giggles.

Later Jensen would grouch a little about how much Jared's moods affected him, but at the moment he just smiled at the picture the man made sitting in the sand and gasping for breath between his giggles. He was standing at the edge of the waves, the crests crashing at the backs of his thighs, when he suddenly remembered the popsicles sitting on the counter.

"Oh shit," he exclaimed as he clamored out of the water and made a break for the house.

Jared intercepted him in the sand, tackling him down and pinning him. "Where do you think you're going," he asked playfully. Murphy licked a long striped on the bottom of one bare foot.

Jensen screeched, his leg spasming helplessly, foot curling. "Stop it. Stop it. Hahahaha. Stop him. Please," he begged. "I gotta… Haha. I gotta check… on something," he gasped out.

He chuckled, "I see that your Schwartz is as big as mine."

Jensen burst out laughing. "Nerd," he accused.

"You like it," Jared asserted. Well, he had him there.

Jensen wiggled and tried to roll onto his stomach to get his limbs under him. Not smart.

Jared let him, then collapsed on top of him and nibbled at his ear. He was thoroughly enjoying this.

"Oof. Ungh. Jay, you weigh a ton. C'mon, man," he wheezed. He twisted, trying to get Jared off of him.

"Nuhuh," he grunted and latched on that soft spot right behind his ear, where the skin was thin and very sensitive.

Jensen keened, "Jay!" Every muscle in his body seemed to lock up and he became incapable of movement, or thought.

Much later they stumbled back into the house. He had sand in places he didn't even know a person could have sand. Jared was being exceedingly handsy despite their activities of the intervening hours. Jensen had no idea how he managed to walk with his husband's hand down the back of his shorts, but he succeeded long enough to get inside on his own two feet. He even kept enough brain cells functioning to notice that his popsicles had melted into a rainbow puddle on the counter. "Mother of fuck!," Jensen bitched.

Jared paused. "What was that supposed to be," he asked.

He hung his head and mumbled something.

"What?"

Jensen leaned his head back on Jared's shoulder and groaned, "Sour gummi worm popsicles." Dejectedly, he thought about the fact that he'd have to start all over again and now it wouldn't be a surprise.

Jared's voice was full of wonder, "Were those for me? I'm so sorry, Jen."

He took a step towards the kitchen. "Let me get this cleaned up," he started.

Jared yanked him back with an arm around his hips, like a band of steel, and that one finger on his other hand crooked just right. "Nuhuh. Shower first," he ordered and herded Jensen towards the big bathroom in the rear of the house. "You can freeze them again, right," Jared prodded as he stripped them both of their clothes and shoved his husband under the warm spray a second before he followed.

"Mmhmm," Jensen assured him, enjoying the feeling of the water sluicing over his skin and taking the sand with it down the drain.

He'd barely gotten the chafing sensation out of his mind when the water was shut off and he somehow was teleported from the shower to the bed. "Stay," Jared ordered sternly.

He was floating, relaxed and content, when the bed dipped again. Jensen had no idea how long Jared had been gone, only that it had been long enough to make a cup of tea. He cracked open his eyes. Make that two cups of tea. "What's gotten into you," he wondered.

Jared passed Jensen his cup and told him to, "Drink." When he hesitated, Jared tipped the cup against his lips. The liquid was pleasantly warm but not hot enough to scald him.

"Jay?"

There was a TV tray set up next to the bed. There was one popsicle, one of those red white and blue rocket things that were all sugar and no flavor, and one big mug of hot tea, steaming curling up through the small hole of the travel lid. Jensen started getting interested when his husband popped the iced treat into his mouth with a wicked gleam in his eye. "Now, I've always wanted to try this. I'd grab the headboard if I was you," he stated after he set it back down on the TV tray. His lips were stained a ridiculous red and blue. Those dimples made an appearance as he smiled wide, winked, and dove down.

Jensen's breath caught in his chest in one massive inhale. The headboard creaked in protest when his grip tightened. "Holy shit," he moaned and threw his head back. He'd figure out what was going on later.


	2. Hopes Dreams Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared made a small sound as they turned onto their driveway. A tall coconut palm had fallen during the storm, blocking the way. They could just see the trunk beneath the water and the fronds were sticking up from where the top of the palm now rested. He was almost robotic as Jensen guided him around the obstacles in their way, too busy trying to see through the foliage to where the house should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have friends and family all over both the East and West coasts of Florida. I could not keep my mind off the aftermath from Hurricane Irma.

It had been three days, seventy-two hours of waiting until they were allowed to go home. They had weathered the storm inland. Jensen could still remember the sound of the wind battering the walls of the shelter. He couldn't get the feeling of his husband shaking, muscles tense, after the power had gone out. The roof of the place had started peeling away and all Jensen could think about was that he should have pushed harder to get the four of them the hell out of dodge before it had been too late.  
  
Now they were walking in foot deep floodwater the final half mile to their house on Manasota Key and the more damage they saw the quieter Jared had gotten. He was clutching at Jensen's hand, his grip almost too strong. "What if it's gone," Jared asked him.  
  
Jensen didn't like the soft, broken tone in his husband's words. "Then it's gone, Jay," he answered. It was just a house. He'd gotten himself, Jared, and the two dogs out of there just in time. They were all safe, and compared to that, the house was far lower on his list of priorities.  
  
Jared made a small sound as they turned onto their driveway. A tall coconut palm had fallen during the storm, blocking the way. They could just see the trunk beneath the water and the fronds were sticking up from where the top of the palm now rested. He was almost robotic as Jensen guided him around the obstacles in their way, too busy trying to see through the foliage to where the house should be.  
  
Jensen squeezed Jared's hand in a show of support. "Whatever it is, Jay, we can fix it," he told him.  
  
Jared finally looked at him then. He stopped walking and looked at Jensen like he could bring out the sun. "I know," he replied. There was a wobble in his lower lip, but his eyes were dry and he looked more determined than ever. He visibly gathered himself and even seemed to grow taller as he straightened his spine. "Let's go see how bad it is so we can get started," he added.  
  
Jensen smiled at him, happy to finally see that steel backbone the man had discovered only a few shorts years ago.  
  
Jared led the way and Jensen knew it was going to be bad when he suddenly picked up the pace. "Jen, the porch is gone," he exclaimed. He sounded happy, deliriously so.  
  
It only took a glance to realize why Jared was sounding so happy about the damage. Another tall palm tree had fallen, uprooted in the hurricane strength winds. It had taken out the majority of the porch. Jensen's hammock was thankfully packed away, but he'd have to install the eyebolts into new posts once the repairs had been completed. Yet, Jensen was both shocked and surprised to find that the remainder of their home seemed to be intact.  
  
Stagnant water was sitting about a third of the way up the stilts and he would be worried about the possibility of alligators in its depths, except for the fact that he knew the water to be as salty as the nearby ocean lapping gently now at the sandy beach. It was more likely that he'd run into a tiger shark wading around out here. He was pleased to find that he could not see any of the windows, only the plywood boards they'd hammered into place over the glass. The makeshift storm shutters had weathered the storm remarkably well. The problem, however, would be finding a way up into their home when the steps nearest to them had been partially demolished and the section of porch attach to them didn't look to be in much better shape.  
  
Jared circled around to the other side of the house, where the second set of steps touched the sodden ground. "It's still standing," he announced as he started up the stairs.  
  
"Jay, be careful," Jensen pleaded. His heart was in his throat. The timbers could collapse at any moment. How much damage had been done to them by the storm? Not wanting to place any more stress upon them before he'd gotten a good look at each and every one, he stayed below and paced in the water with his eyes fixed firmly above him.  
  
Jared made it all the way to the side door.  
  
Jensen was breathing a little easier. "How does it look," he asked.  
  
Jared looked down at him over the porch railing. "The dining room window got hit with some debris. Shattered the glass. Cracked the board in half. I'm not sure the china made it," he told him. The buffet was situated opposite one of the windows, probably the one that had gotten busted in.  
  
"Can you come down here, please? You're making me nervous," Jensen replied.  
  
Jared gave him an odd look but soon was coming back down the steps. He planted a boisterous kiss on Jensen's lips. "I was fine," he teased. "Worry wort."  
  
Jensen looked back up at their house and his worries settled a bit. Getting this place back into shape would take some time, but he was now certain that they would get there. He wrapped an arm around Jared's shoulders. "C'mon, Jay. The kids are probably missing us by now," he said.  
  
Jared laughed. "Yeah, those four-footed furry monsters are probably driving Shari batty by now," he replied.


	3. Relearning to Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The call came early Monday morning, before the first ember glow of dawn was seen in the east.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, 2017 sucks balls. As you may already know, I have friends and family all over Florida and the Caribbean. One household has had it particularly bad this year. They narrowly missed getting creamed by Irma by about 20 miles when it turned at the last second and made landfall further south than expected. There was a week of debris cleanup and much of the county was without power for a while, instead of the expected total destruction. Maria didn't help the blood pressures, either. And, well, you know how many named tropical storms there were this year. We even had a couple spawn spontaneously in the middle of the Gulf. Yippee.
> 
> Having had enough for the moment, this family unit decided to say 'screw Florida' and visit relatives that live in California. I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this. These California relatives live in the Mayacamas mountains on the ridge between Sonoma and Napa valleys. Their flight was uneventful and it seemed like this was going to be the vacation they desperately needed. I dreamt of fire Sunday night. Not the flicker of a campfire, but the roar of an explosion and the building bursting into flame below my feet. I wake up Monday morning to a text message and devastating news reports of around seven separate fires in the area that all started within the same fifteen minutes. My family was forced to flee the flames around midnight the night before and, with fire on both sides of the road as they descended the mountain, they nearly didn't make it out. A few of their neighbors actually didn't and succumbed to the flames before they could escape.
> 
> So, 2017 sucks. This year can kiss my ass. Thank you everyone in the fandom for just being here. You all have helped make it bearable.
> 
> And now, the story inspired by the days I spent huddled in front of my computer scouring every news report and satellite photo I could get my modem on, hoping against hope. My California family members lost everything they owned, save for a couple changes of clothing, but they're still alive. I'll take it.

_ There is some speculation that a soul mate bond can never truly be broken. The idea is an attractive one, not unlike the plots to our favorite guilty pleasure romance novels. Pamela Hines, PhD, of the University of Illinois Chicago has recorded several instances where the surviving twinned soul has claimed to still see the emotions of their other half from beyond the grave and at least one individual who insists their soul mate is stuck at the location of their death. These accounts are, as of yet, untestable and remain unconfirmed. The possibility remains that the individuals in question are experiencing rather severe forms of normal grief. Seeing, hearing, and sometimes even talking with a deceased loved one are all part of the normal grieving process. Therefore, it is logical to assume that hallucinations involving the accustomed communications specific to each twinned soul pair would be experienced during this process. _

_ A few researchers have taken this possibility a bit further and postulated that if a twinned soul bond can survive death, it may also be revived after presumed severed. Julian Caligiuri, MD PhD, of Cornell University is currently following four twinned soul pairs with severely damaged or presumed severed soul mate bonds, determined by the degree of soul mate mark remodeling present at the start of the study. The study has been running since 2005 and a fifteen year followup is currently planned. No concrete evidence of bond repair has been recorded prior to publication of this book. _

_ Twinned Souls, An Exploration _

 

The call came early Monday morning, before the first ember glow of dawn was seen in the east. The first thing Jensen heard was Jared sounding worried. He had no clue what his husband was saying, but the tone of his voice and the rapid-fire speed at which the words were flying out of his mouth was enough to have Jensen fighting to wake up.

At first, he thought something had gone wrong with the house. Other than the broken window and the decimated stairs, their home on Manasota Key had escaped the hurricane relatively unscathed. That didn't mean the repairs these last few weeks had proceeded smoothly. To the contrary, it had been fraught with setbacks and delays. Difficulties created by a chronic lack of supplies and proper tools had been compounded by intermittent power losses and dangerously high ambient temperatures. The fury of Irma had given way to a suffocating calm after the storm had passed. There had been no breeze to offer relief from the heat.

Lately, Jared had been spending entirely too much time driving. The home improvement stores that survived the storm intact were now being bombarded by wandering hordes of Floridians, all with only one goal in mind. Further and further out from the shoreline, he was finding only empty shelves and a promise that stock would be replenished soon. He had been thrilled when they found a contractor last week. Jensen had been just as pleased and hired the woman on the spot, trusting Jared's judgment. That stroke of luck was the only reason they weren't still waking up every morning with aching backs and crispy fried skin.

"Amanda. Amanda," Jared repeated. He was sitting up now, cotton sheets pooling in his lap. The golden expanse of his back all the way down to the plushness of his buttocks were bare to the warm tropical heat blowing in through a space left by the open window. "Where are you," Jared asked in a booming voice, cutting through the incoherent chatter Jensen could hear from the other side of the line.

Jensen reached out and laid his open hand on his husband's hip, hoping to reassure the other man with his palm against the smooth skin that he found there. He was flooded with sickly yellow/green tendrils of fear.

Jared knew the moment Jensen was awake by the subtle shift of the other man's weight on the bed and the rustle of the sheets as he scooted closer. Amanda, on the other end of the line, was saying goodbye and sounding scared. "Manda, we're on our way," he assured her, his voice wavering on the syllables of her name.

Jensen could feel that Jared was shaking. Whatever the call had been about, it had to be bad. There was no other logical explanation for the fine tremor that had taken root in the other man's muscles. Jensen mustered up a soft uttering of, "Jared," nudging him back to the here and now, with Jensen.

Jared shuddered once, from the top of his head to the spot where Jensen was still touching him. He didn't say anything.

"Jared, what is it," he prompted, sounding more concerned. There was a pause, and then he added, "Was that my sister?"

Jared nodded, twisting around to face him. He looked pale. "It's a fire," he said, and his words held more dread than such a simple concept should.

"What," he asked. He was picturing things like tidy little fire pits in the backyard, a roaring fireplace with an old oak mantle, and candles flickering in the twilight. Fires were warm and reminded him of lazy winter nights curled up together with mugs of hot cider and a good movie on the TV.

Jared was entirely too agitated for Jensen's idea of a fire, though. The words were coming out of his mouth so fast that Jensen could barely catch them all. "Fire. The valley is on fire. They had no warning. Ohmygod, they barely got out," he fretted.

Jensen blinked and then he got it. He understood the horrible thing that Jared was trying so desperately to tell him and he was suddenly cold despite the warm sea air around them. The valley was... "Oh. I...I need to make some calls," he said woodenly. He reached out blindly for his cellphone on the nightstand. He needed to make reservations. Airline. Hotel. Car rental. What else?

Jared cupped Jensen's jaw with one hand. "Jensen," he said.

Jensen blinked, his attention fixed on his own phone.

Jared plucked the device from his hand. "Jensen," he repeated.

Jensen's eyes followed the phone, then snapped to Jared's face. His brow furrowed. "There's no time, Jay," he explained. "I've got to... We've got to... book a flight... get out there. Screw packing," he announced. He started looking around for the smaller luggage they'd gotten for the Scottsdale trip.

Jared kissed Jensen before he could say more and got a glimpse of a stuttered streak of deep golden/green. "Go get a shower, Jen," he told him. He left another soft kiss on the other man's lips when he didn't respond immediately. "I'll make the reservations and pack the bags," he added softly. He could do this. He could be strong for the both of them, for as long as it took.

Jensen took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Right. Thanks," he replied distractedly. He slid out of bed on bare feet, fingertips trailing over Jared's side.

Jared got a fleeting glimpse of red/orange stained impatience to act before his soul mate's touch left his skin.

The closest commercial airport was Sarasota, well over an hours' drive away. By the time Jensen was emerging from his shower, Jared had packed their bags and reserved two seats on a flight leaving for San Francisco. They were running up to the gate just as the last call for boarding was going out over the PA system. The rental agencies at the airport had run out of vehicles by the time they landed, despite the reservation Jared had made prior to take off. They ended up paying for a taxi to take them into San Francisco to pick something up from a lot in the city. By the time Jensen was settled behind the wheel of the 'ugly monstrosity', as he'd called it, even Jared was feeling frustrated at how much time it had taken to get moving once they'd touched down.

The air was already hazy just outside of the city and the deeper they drove into the valley the thicker the smoke got until Jensen began to wonder if, eventually, he'd be forced to pull over to the side of the road and start walking. He glanced at the notes he'd scribbled onto the back of his hand after he made his first turn off the highway, the back end of the SUV swinging out as he completed the turn. Jensen had stocked the trunk with jugs of bottled water and enough sandwiches to feed a small army, and Jared had thrown several bags of cat and dog food into the backs seats as well, insisting that pets were family too. This thing was weighted down and definitely back heavy. Thankfully, the shelter Amanda had mentioned was far enough from the fire lines that the supplies and a promise not to go exploring got them waved through the police checkpoints. Whatever got him through was worth it.

Jared was looking like a kicked puppy in the passenger seat, his thumb worrying over the back of his phone like he could summon Amanda from thin air with it somehow. He scrolled through the menus and dialed the most recent number on his call history. It went straight to voicemail.

"Did she pick up," Jensen asked.

Jared looked out the side window at the flickering orange flames in the distance. They were everywhere. The entire mountain seemed to have caught ablaze. "No," he replied.

Jensen cursed.

"She's ok. She's safe," Jared murmured. She had to be. He reached out to the hand Jensen had resting on the gearshift, lacing their fingers together.

The bond between them was nothing like it had once been. It was still unpredictable. At times it was alive and vibrant, so loud that Jared had to concentrate to make any sense out of the sensory input. Other times it was quiet, so dark that he feared the connection broken until some glimmer of emotion from Jensen reassured him. It didn't seem so flimsy now. Through the grip of his hand on Jensen's thigh, Jared could see a riot of emotion dancing behind his eyes. He knew if he closed them the colors would be so present he could almost forget that if he let Jensen go the colors would go with him.

The only indications that Jensen heard him was the subtle nod of his head and the squeeze he gave to their joined hands at the same time.

There was a blue so dark that it seemed the depths of the ocean had swept over their bond, depression/worry. It only lasted a brief span of time, but Jared didn't like seeing it. "We'll see her soon," he said, needing to say the words just as much as he knew his soul mate needed to hear them.

"Try one more time," Jensen suggested, sounding just a little more concerned with each failed attempt to contact her.

"Jensen, she's not picking up. I'm only getting voicemail," Jared told him. There wasn't anything more he could do.

The SUV leapt forward as Jensen's foot nearly hit the floor. That deep blue sea return and it was shot through with the yellow-green lightning of frantic/concern.

Jared yelped and planted his hand on the dashboard in front of him. The colors disappeared as soon as he lost physical contact. "The battery's probably just dead," he added in an attempt to reassure his husband.

Jensen didn't look convinced and the car didn't slow down. He just needed to get there. Now. This uncertainty was torture.

"C'mon, Jen. You'll get us killed and then we'll never find your sister," he pleaded. He settled his palm on Jensen's neck, a thumb running circles on his skin. He tried to think peaceful thoughts, hoping it would be transmitted over the bond between them.

The SUV sped along the road, going much faster than Jensen's reflexes could react if something jumped out in front of it's wheels.

"Slow down... C'mon, ease off... Just a little," he said. Slowly, his efforts began to work. He kept repeated his words until they were back at a much more manageable speed.

Jensen reached up and squeezed his hand. "Sorry," he said.

Jared huffed, but he laid a kiss on Jensen's knuckles in response. He didn't let go again until he could clearly see their destination through the windshield.

Several locations had been identified as evacuation shelters by the time the pair had disembarked their flight. The mandatory evacuation zone had been vastly widened, as well. Jensen had found an article on the hotel where Amanda had spent the last few days. It was now a smoldering ruins. To make things work, the two of them had heard from Amanda a total of two times. Once when she'd called Jared's phone, assuming that he would be easier to wake than her night owl of a brother. The second time was when she had texted an address to Jensen's phone. It was for an elementary school in Sonoma that had been one of the first buildings to open its doors to evacuees. She had said she would be here.

Jensen wasn't really feeling any better by the time they reached the school. His lower lip was nearly shredded and his left knee was bouncing. He hadn't even noticed he'd been chewing on his lip until he tore off a layer of skin, leaving raw nerve endings exposed. The muscles in Jensen's right leg bunched and shifted as he pulled the SUV up the curb closest to the door. The engine had barely silenced before he was hopping out of the driver's seat, the soles of his sneakers landing on the blacktop with a thwap.

The air outside was so laced with smoke that they are both coughing by the time they made it to the front door of the gymnasium. When car manufacturers had started installed HEPA filters in their luxury vehicles, Jared had laughed. He wasn't laughing now. The vehicle's interior had been completely free of the carbon sting now clogging his airways, not even a hint of the of what awaited them outside the controlled environment of the SUV. Jared briefly considered returning to it and turning the air all the way up just to ease the burning in his throat, but then they reached the entrance of the school's gym. The double doors were closing behind them and he was committed.

The crush of people inside the building were overwhelming at first. They stood just inside the doors, uncertain where to go next, when someone approached and cheerfully announced, "Welcome!"

Jensen scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, hi," he said. He couldn't help letting his attention stray to the people beyond the entrance.

That's when Jared took over. "I'm Jared. This is my husband Jensen. His sister evacuated this morning and was planning to come here, Amanda Ackles."

The man pursed his lips. "You say she was coming to this facility," asked.

"Yes," he confirmed.

He retrieved a clipboard from the nearby table and started flipping through the papers on it. "If she's here, she'll be on this roster," he explained. "Ackles. Ackles," he muttered as he dragged his finger down each page and then folded it over to scan the next one with equal care.

Jensen was looking between the man and the crowd, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. It was clear that he didn't want to wait on paperwork. Even though it had only been a few moments, it felt like they had been standing there for a lifetime. "Jay," he prodded, catching his soul mate's bicep in a soft hold.

"Hmm," Jared grunted.

"You good here," Jensen asked.

Jared squinted at him until he realized what the other man was truly asking. 'Can I start without you?' He nodded. "Yeah, Jen. I've got this. Go look for Manda," he replied.

"You sure?" He was biting his lip again.

"Yes," he reassured him.

Jensen's eyes flicked over to the doors. "What about the water? And, the food," he added.

Jared gave him a look that clearly said, 'idiot'.

"Right," Jensen replied sheepishly. Of course, Jared would understand. "Thanks," he added gratefully. He gave Jared's bicep one last soft squeeze before he left the pair standing at the doors.

The gymnasium wasn't all that big. Two basketball courts sat side-by-side lined on two walls by rows of retractable bleachers that were currently fully extended and filled with people sitting or lying down on the wooden benches. The cots had been packed as tight as possible onto the floor of the gym, leaving precious little of the painted lines visible enough to tell when one court ended and the other began. It appeared to be that there had once been orderly rows of cots with plenty of space of walk between and at some point that arrangement had been abandoned in favor of accommodating the overwhelming numbers of evacuees that had sought refuge here. There wasn't a single bed not occupied in his immediate vicinity.

The space in between each cot was just big enough to slide through, if he angled his body and sort of shimmied in a few places where the poles would brush against his shins on either side. He mumbled an apology to the people he couldn't avoid brushing his shoulder against and even helped one woman rescue the contents of her purse when he knocked it over with his foot. All the while, sharp green eyes scanned each face as he passed, a grim sort of determination set into his freckled features and a slight frown on his lips that only deepened the further he traveled without finding his sister.

Jensen was so intently looking for a woman's familiar profile that he almost missed a mountain of a man off to his left and about halfway through the length of the gym. The man's back was facing Jensen from his seated position and his bulk was masked somewhat by the way he seemed to be hunched over, but his broad shoulders and that familiar riot of carrot-colored hair was distinctive. What had him quicken his pace was the sight of a much smaller man curled into his side wearing the loudest color of fluorescent purple Jensen had ever seen.

When he got near enough he called out, "Connall! Zaz!"

Connall heard him on the second try, standing up and turning around to find him. "Jensen," he said warmly, the skin crinkling at the corners of his eyes as his face broke out into a wide grin. The man enveloped him in a bone crushing bear hug as soon as he was within reach. "Man, it's good to see you," he announced a little tearfully.

Jensen patted him on the shoulder and when he was released he sat down next to Zaz on the cot, Connall settling on the smaller man's opposite side with an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Zaz looked shaken. "I'm glad you two are okay," he told them, heartened by the sight of their friends looking rattled but unharmed. Connall, Zaz, and Amanda had been scouting a location in Glen Ellen for an executive retreat. It was a good chance these two would know where she had gotten to. He just didn't want to push the matter too quickly.

Zaz lifted his head and smiled. "Amanda is over by the water station," he offered. "I know she wants to see you."

Jensen gave Zaz a squeeze and relief gruffly, "Thanks, man," before he was up off the cot and heading towards the far corner of the room where he could see stacks of bottled water being passed out, leaving Jared to catch up with their friends.

"One track mind," Zaz remarked fondly as he watched him go.

Now that he knew where he was going, it seemed to take almost no time to find her after all. His sister. She was talking to an older couple with patches of soot on their nightclothes and dirt-smudged slippers on their feet, helping them to figure out what to do next. The pounding in his head that had been his constant companion since the phone call that morning eased now that he was close enough to make out her soft-spoken words, close enough to see that she was alive. She looked fine, a little rumpled but otherwise there didn't appear to be a mark on her. He was near speechless with relief.

Amanda spotted him, a full head above the tallest in his immediate vicinity, before he had a chance to pull himself together and say something, anything to get her attention. "Jenny," she squealed and launched herself out of the chair at him.

It was a full body slam. Jensen was rocked back on his heels, but his footing was solid and his grip sure. He grumbled, "Don't call me that," as he kept her from falling. He absolutely did not rest his cheek against the top of her head. He held onto her longer than strictly necessary, like they were ten and seven again. "Don't call me that," he grumbled, sounding very much like a petulant child.

The older gentleman of the couple she'd been speaking with looked surprised, utterly flabbergasted. He was adjusting his glasses and squinting like his vision was fuzzy and he was trying to bring it back into some focus. It wasn't until he suddenly blurted out, "So this is Jenny? I pictured someone shorter... longer hair maybe," that Jensen understood what the problem had been.

Amanda laughed, guffawed actually, and squeezed him a little tighter before letting him go. "This is Jensen, my brother," she explained, adding his gender at the end as an afterthought.

Halfway across the gym Jared straightened from his crouch. He'd been speaking to Zaz and Connall, but something grabbed his attention so forcefully that he was helpless to deny the sudden impulse to seek out his soul mate amid the crowd of evacuees. A riot of color had burst into life in front of him so vibrantly that he could barely see beyond the swirl of Jensen's emotions reaching out to him, crossing the gap between them like it used to. He closed his eyes and reveled in the wash of exultant pale yellow joy, the splash of soothing aqua he knew to be emotional healing, the tendrils of pastel blue softness playing at the periphery, and the white glow of safety ran through all of it. This was not the choked off, washed out colors they had fought so hard to regain these past few months. No, this was a return of what they had lost, in all its technicolor glory.

Jared had stopped talking mid-sentence with a far away look in his eyes and now it seemed like he wasn't even seeing Zaz and Connall right in front of him. "Jared," Zaz prompted. He sounded curious and a little worried.

Jared blinked and looked at him then, surfacing from his internal landscape with a sense of wonder. There was a soft smile playing on his lips, lighting up the rest of his face and obscuring the lines of exhaustion etched into his face. He looked years younger than he had only a few moments ago. "It's Jen," he replied cryptically.

Jared said something to Zaz and Connall in parting, though he would never remember what, and walked in a daze towards Jensen. He was so distracted that he missed the knowing looks the two gave each other. He plastered himself against the other man's back from pelvis to shoulders as soon as he was near enough to get a good grip on him, completely ignoring Amanda's surprised exclamation as he did. He didn't realize he was crying until he felt wetness on the patch of Jensen's shirt beneath his chin.

"Jared," Jensen started. "What's wrong?"

"You were so happy," he replied as he tucked his face into his soul mate's neck. "I saw it, all the way over there. A disco ball lighting up my brain."

And that, that was just strawberry flavored icing on top of some of the best news he'd had all day. Amanda was safe, Connall and Zaz were safe, and it was beginning to look like their soul mate bond was healing after all. "Does that mean what I think it means," Jensen asked, not wanting to get his hopes up too soon. He'd never told his husband just how much he missed having Jared's emotions coloring his mind.

"It certainly does," Jared confirmed, hoping this new development would prove to be a two-way street.

Golden satisfaction curled through them both as Jensen replied smugly, "I knew we could do it."

"Yeah, you did," he admitted.

For a long while, or perhaps only a few seconds, they stood in each other's space. Jensen didn't know when he'd closed his eyes, tipped his head back onto Jared's broad shoulder. It was peaceful. They tuned everyone else out and just watched their soul mate bond come alive. Their bodies tuned to each other, hearts beating in sync, lungs inhaling and exhaling as one.

Eventually, Jared opened his eyes to find Amanda smirking at him, like she knew a secret and she wasn't going to tell. He felt rested, the way you do after a deep tissue massage, and he couldn't help but return her smile with one of his own. "It's good to see you, Manda," he told her.

"Thanks for coming to get me," Amanda replied.

Jensen cracked his own eyes open when she spoke. He looked lighter somehow. The stress of the last hours was still present, but there was an older weight that seemed to have lifted from him. "Anytime," he said softly.

He looked down and got a glimpse of their hands entwined together, two identical golden bands to symbolize the promises they've made since they found each other again. He was wistfully remembering the day they had gone to pick out their rings, Jared grouching that he didn't want to go to a chain store to get the same crap that lined the display cases of every other jewelry store in the country. There was a jeweler not far from his flat in the city that specialized in one-of-a-kind pieces, and there wasn't a single diamond in the entire place. Jared's excitement had lasted the rest of the day and well into the end of the week.

Thinking of that day, the rings on their fingers, made another ring he'd noticed only in passing come to mind. "Uh, Jay, did you see a ring on Zaz's finger," he suddenly asked.

Jared hummed, his chin returning to rest on Jensen's shoulder. "Yes," he said. "And, I may have told Connall you'd be his best man," he added after a moment.

"You what now," Jensen sputtered, turning around to face him.

Jared laughed at his indignant tone. "Like you would have said no," he countered playfully.

Jensen smiled, then. "Connall and Zaz. About damn time," he said happily. He wrapped an arm around Amanda's shoulders, pulling her with him as he walked, Jared trailing closely behind them. "C'mon, this calls for a celebration."

Zaz looked remarkably more relaxed by the time Jensen, Jared, and Amanda joined them. Jensen's smile was so bright it could have lit the entire gym all by itself, his thousand watt smile. "Connall, you sly dog you," he announced gleefully.

Connall shrugged. "He's the love of my life. Besides, you should have seen how he proposed," he explained.

Zaz turned beet red.


End file.
